Can i sand soapstone

Rub it onto the stone not too much so that it remains looking wet. Rub off any excess. This will darken all the stone tenfold to almost a black color. Over time, the mineral oil will need to be re-applied every weeks to keep all the countertops uniform in color as the oil will evaporate. If time goes by and you wish to return the tops color to the original grayish blue, you can with a lot of sandpaper and a few hours of time — have a friend help and use an electric flat sander.

Stone sealers will work with slightly limited effect on soapstone compared to granite. Remember — Nothing can get down into soapstone — Stone sealers are made as a rule to penetrate Granite and Marble — not soapstone. So I'm doing some "afterwork" to get things the way I'd like them. As seems to be the common situation, the slab came from the warehouse with a very smooth high shine and the fabricator did not sand it down. I have since been working on it to get the finish I want.

I first tried sanding by hand, but finally pulled out my random orbital sander and sanded it down with 80 grit. By the way, hooking that little sucker to my shop-vac equipped with a drywall dust bag was amazing at reducing dust!! I've read in a few places that some fabricators think leaving the stone at 80 grit is the way to go. However, I still have a lot of little bumps and spots that i can feel and that are shinier than adjacent areas. It looks and feels very leathery. I'm not sure if those are just areas of harder stone or leftover sealer or what.

Should I do another round of 80 grit to even things out more and then maybe go up to ? I don't want to keep sanding if all I'm doing is sanding away softer stone and leaving harder stone, with the continuing bumpiness. Here's a photo of what the counter top looked like postsanding, with no treatment of course. You can see that it wasn't all uniform, and you can see the original dark color on the edges. The light areas of reflection clearly show the leathery surface. I feel like I can still see the marks from my towel after buffing, like the wax doesn't really dry the way it would on a car.

I wanted to post an update in case anyone else is looking for sanding info. It does not come with dust holes and since I was using my random orbital sander inside the house, I cut appropriate holes with a utility knife. That was a bit of a pain! After using this sandpaper, my counters are just the way I want them! They are smoother than the leathery finish I had ended up with when using regular sandpaper, but not too shiny - just a soft gleam instead.

So happy that this was recommended to me by Sombreuil! In the picture here, the countertops had just been waxed. I'm not a fabricator, but my soapstone is finished using 80 grit and we like it very much that way. As a stoner I can share several things; Use silicon carbide or diamond abrasives aluminum oxide won't cut it.

Without a hard pad on your ROS, you will get more texture. The diamond discs are metal-backed, so they machine the surface very flat. I have very hard SS, so I was able to finish up at a higher grit.

My last passes were by hand, in a straight line with Are oak floors out of date. Suede Finish Silestone Charcoal Soapstone.

So Casey, I could use these sanding pads? Would you recommend starting again at 80 to try to smooth the stone and then going up to maybe ? I'm hoping I could cut some dust holes in them to help with that problem. I also found these diamond pads and other similar ones, but it appears they all require a grinder or polisher. I didn't see any that seemed to work with a ROS. I could ask around to see if any friends have a grinder.

Thanks for the help. I've seen other posts of yours on other boards and it's great that you are willing to give advice. I'm going to be using a remnant for my laundry room, so that will be a complete DYI some day Thanks, eam Here are some pictures of the rest of it, not quite finished with painting and no decorations yet. Small steps left now Vpierce, thanks! I'm happy with how it all turned out and glad to have contractors out of my house!

The backsplash is vein-cut limestone - Daltile Chenille White Polished. That is a very pretty space! Ours were finished with 80 grit - we requested it after seeing a display in the showroom. It is a good arm workout! It has been 10 years here, but I believe these are the same ones I bought; the price is high, but they last forever. Thanks, Casey - I'll order the grit and see how it goes.

I'll be very tentative at first, I'm sure, since it looks like it will be removing a lot more material at a fast pace! Thanks, Joseph, but if you are referring to the full-kitchen pictures, those were taken when the soapstone still had the high polish.

Too shiny and felt like granite instead of soapstone. Thanks, weedmeyer! They are from Build. I had a hard time finding a pendant that I liked because so many of the current crop have visible bulbs that put off too much glare for my eyes. This fixture has a piece of frosted glass above and below the bulb, so good light without glare. I love your lights. What a difference! Thank you so much for posting your follow up because I've been watching this thread. I want to sand down my counter tops that were finished to and seem to slick for me.

Quick question. How did you sand around your faucet and inside corners and how did you protect your back splash? Also, which wax did you use? I was using mineral oil but have decided to switch to wax. Your kitchen is beautiful! Honu, I hadn't sanded around the faucet or right next to the walls quite as aggressively with the previous grit sandpaper on the ROS because I had to do most of the sanding there by hand and I'm lazy , so it wasn't leathery like the big open stretches, but the shine had been knocked down a bit.

So now the areas next the walls and behind the sink blend just fine with the parts I sanded with the diamond paper, maybe a little shinier but not that anyone would notice.

I used a piece of cardboard up against the backsplash and next to the stove when sanding nearby with the ROS. Also, all of the edges of the counter top including inside the sink were basically in the same "knocked-down" condition due to my first ROS sanding, so again, I pretty much left those alone when working with the diamond paper. I did try sanding a tricky area with the diamond paper held in my hand, but it looked really uneven and scratchy and seemed like it would lead to more work than it was worth, so I quit right away.

I used , then , and finally had to use grit sandpaper to get it to be really smooth to the touch and shiny. Indem Sie weiterhin auf der Website surfen bzw. Mehr erfahren. Ultimate Lighting Sale. Bathroom Vanity Sale. Bestselling Chandeliers and Pendants.

Sign In. Join as a Pro. Houzz TV. Houzz Research. Shop Featured Holiday Categories. Home Decor. Holiday Decor. Christmas Trees. Holiday Lighting. Gift Cards. Questions on Sanding Soapstone. Email Save Comment Featured Answer. Like 1 Save. Sort by: Oldest. Newest Oldest. Like Save. Related Discussions soapstone counter sealed? Post a picture if soapstone. It probably can be fixed to your satisfaction if you find the right person who is knowledgeable in stone restoration in your area.

Soapstone question Q. Thank you. I am thinking about poultry or fish being prepared on a cutting board on the counter and wanting to make sure the counter is cleaned sufficiently. When I had tile I would take out the Clorox clean up and sanitizer that spot. Dish detergent and water doesn't seem like the best disinfectant for these circumstances. That is why I was wondering how others with soapstone keep it disinfected. Dish detergent is fine to use for fruits and veggies but poultry or fish, what do you think?

Soapstone problems Q. Thanks for the responses. The wax was recommended by the installers, but they also mentioned there was a good oil.

I would like to remove the wax and go with oil as suggested here. Acetone was recommended to me for wax removal - not working. Tried dawn dish soap - not working. I will continue down the wax removal path.

I am waiting for the installer to call back Monday.